The Russian Military Convoy Heading For Kyiv Seems To Have Stopped

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A 40-mile-long Russian military convoy apparently on its way to Kyiv appears to have stopped.
A senior U.S. defense official said these could be logistical problems, but Russia could also “regroup, rethink, reevaluate” its invasion.
The convoy is believed to include tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and supplies.

A large 40-kilometer convoy of Russian military vehicles appears to have stopped on its way to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and is a key target as more and more Russian forces enter the country to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a series of setbacks, and Russia’s progress has slowed in the face of not only significant Ukrainian resistance but also problems with logistics and supplies.

Some invading Russian forces are “literally without gas” and “have trouble feeding their troops,” according to a senior U.S. defense official who told reporters on Tuesday.

The United States has noted that Russian forces are “facing more resistance than they thought they had experienced challenges with fuel and logistics – and we have been talking about this for several days, and it remains so today,” the official said.

“In many cases,” the official continued, “what we see are columns that are literally without gas, and as I said earlier, they are now running out of food for their troops.”

They explained that “the main offensive on Kyiv remains where it was yesterday, so there is no noticeable movement from the Russians coming down from the north.”

The large convoy has stopped about 28 miles north of Kyiv and includes tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and supplies, according to an NPR report Tuesday.

Although the official stressed Russia’s logistical problems, they noted that part of the reason for the suspension could be that Russia has decided to suspend its operations, “that it is possible to regroup, rethink, re-evaluate.”

40 miles long Russian convoy — Satellite imagery of a 40-mile-long Russian military convoy seen north of Kyiv

At another briefing Wednesday, a senior US defense official said that Russians “continue to be concerned about these logistics and maintenance problems” and that “they generally remain stagnant outside the city” in Kyiv. According to reporters on the call.

“We think the convoy is at a standstill,” they said.

“It’s a long convoy, so I can’t fully anticipate every mile of it, whether they’re moving or not, but they’re not moving in any way, which would make one believe they’ve solved their problems.”

The official said that although the United States has limited visibility on the convoy, the movement of these assets to the Ukrainian capital is an “obvious effort” to resume Russia’s blunt attack on Kyiv, which Russia failed to undertake despite expectations that the city would fall in .

Commercial satellite images recently provided by Maxar Technologies show smoke and fire rising from buildings near the roadway where the convoy was moving, but it was not immediately clear what caused the damage.

A defense official speaking to reporters on Tuesday said the United States estimates that about 80 percent of the approximately 190,000 Russian troops deployed along the border with Ukraine are now in the country. And while Russia stumbles in the first days of this battle, it is expected to adjust its course.

“They will regroup, they will adapt, they will change their tactics,” the official said. The next day, an official said that “we believe that the Russians will learn from these mistakes and obstacles.”